


Three Part Harmony

by Phoenicia, snarkyscorp



Series: Three Part Harmony [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-15
Updated: 2015-08-15
Packaged: 2018-04-14 17:27:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4573251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenicia/pseuds/Phoenicia, https://archiveofourown.org/users/snarkyscorp/pseuds/snarkyscorp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A trio is different from a duet and far more complicated. The addition of a new part can disrupt the perfect harmony of what already exists. But when all the instruments come together, the music is even more beautiful. This is the story of Sousuke, Makoto, and Haruka's first date as a trio.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Three Part Harmony

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WaterbearCosmonaut](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaterbearCosmonaut/gifts).



> For the lovely [WaterbearCosmonaut](http://archiveofourown.org/users/WaterbearCosmonaut/pseuds/WaterbearCosmonaut), for her happiest of birthdays on August 13! (we're a day late in posting but that just means she can have a birthday weekend!)
> 
> This came from some SMH headcanons that we had been discussing over at our joint blog [futurefishsticks](http://futurefishsticks.tumblr.com/post/125236828902/f-i-also-think-canon-verse-ssk-moving-to-tokyo). This piece follows that one continuity-wise and it sort of establishes the general setting, but you don't have to read it in order to enjoy this. It's a standalone piece...but I have a feeling we'll write more someday.

Their first date had to be special. It wasn't just the two of them, going for a swim or to watch fireworks at a festival - it was three unique people with a brand new relationship that was still untested. So far, it had been going well, but Makoto still worried. What if Sousuke felt left out? What if _Haru_ felt left out? 

Odaiba had been Haru's suggestion, and Makoto thought it was a perfect one. Something for everything. The bay and diverse architecture for Haru, games and sweets for Makoto, and Gundam Front Tokyo and Leisureland for Sousuke. Plus, it had one of the world's largest Ferris wheels, something Makoto thought all three of them could enjoy together. The views, the excitement of the ride, time alone with one another...

It seemed like a dream.

"I want to see the haunted house," Sousuke said, as they stood in front of the Statue of Liberty replica.

Makoto looked to Haru with unease. Didn't Sousuke know he didn't like scary things by now? But Makoto wouldn't be the one to ruin their fun if the two of them wanted to go. He could probably just close his eyes and hold onto their shirts, right?

Haru looked Makoto up and down before shrugging, his hands sinking into the pockets of his jacket - his one nod to the cooling weather. "It's fine with me," he said, the words simple but the underlying emotion anything but. _Trust us_ , it said, _trust us both to take care of you._ "Isn't there a crepe seller right next to it?"

Sousuke tipped his head back, finishing the can of soda as his gaze flicked to Haru with what passed as interest in his lazy expressions. The unspoken conversation between the two of them was still something to get used to. _It's fine with me_ could mean any number of things, but Makoto seemed to understand it effortlessly.

"Mm maybe," Makoto said, pulling out the small guide map to look. It distracted him from thinking about how scary the haunted house might be to imagine the sorts of crepes he could eat.

"My treat," Sousuke added, nodding towards the path they should take. Of the three of them, he knew the area best, so he'd lead the way. "Don't argue. You paid for dinner and I'm willing to bet Haru's paying for games afterward." Haru hummed in acknowledgment as he followed Sousuke’s lead on the new path.

Makoto had to skip a bit to catch up, and he stayed close to Sousuke, in between him and Haru as they walked. "That's true," he mused, smiling because it was fair but also incredibly kind of Sousuke to offer. "Only if you'll both have a little with me, of course. Haru doesn't like sweets, but if we both eat them, I'm sure he can be swayed."

"Tokyo doesn't have any mackerel crepes," Haru lamented in a positively _remorseful_ tone, taking quicker steps to keep up with the long-legged giants. All his speed and muscle training in the water didn't translate to terrestrial swiftness, and if he wasn't careful they'd leave him behind with nary an effort. "Makoto likes chocolate anything, and Sousuke doesn't like cinnamon, so anything else is good. For a bite," he added, reluctant to commit to more than that. Even with his competitive-swimming appetite, tucking in a whole crepe by himself felt daunting.

"Mackerel crepes," Makoto sighed. It no longer surprised him to hear Haru add mackerel to sweet and savory dishes alike, but that didn't mean it didn't turn his stomach a little at times. "I...think you'd be the only one eating those, Haru." Haru shrugged; there was no accounting for taste.

Sousuke grinned slightly, slowing his steps to a more leisured pace once he noticed Haru's struggle to keep up. Makoto followed suit. "You can't even eat more than a bite, mm?" he asked, a challenge in his eyes as he looked down at Haru.

Haru’s gaze speared up at Sousuke, catching the defensive snarl with his tongue and rearranging it before it passed his teeth. "Only if it's sweet. Savory I can get about halfway, but sugar and I don't mix." That fact never bothered Haru, because seeing Makoto enjoy acres of sweets was its own reward, the joy lighting up green eyes with every bite. (He also enjoyed it most when Makoto ate sweets that he made.) "We had so much food at dinner," he reminded, still feeling the weight in his middle. "But," he added, blue eyes drifting downward before arrowing back to Sousuke with his own challenge, "maybe I'll be hungry after the haunted house."

Makoto looked between the two of them, a little worried their posturing might start a fight - which wouldn't be the first or the last time. Fortunately, neither Haru nor Sousuke seemed too put out by the other's words and Makoto smiled, wondering if all it took to get them to play nice was someone who loved them both in the middle. Or maybe it was getting to know Sousuke these past few months as their roommate, seeing sides of the man they hadn't been able to see in brief contacts between swimming competitions in high school. Sousuke had indeed changed, and so had Haru. It must have been easier for them to understand one another now.

As they approached the entrance to Leisureland, Makoto's stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch. Sousuke must have noticed, because as he held the door open for both of them, he asked Makoto as he passed, "You're really okay with this?"

Makoto nodded, although he naturally kept close to both of them as they approached the Haunted House area. There was a small queue in front of the entry, and a man taking money for tickets who seemed to also be explaining the process and rules. When he saw the three of them, he smiled, bowed in greeting.

"Welcome to Daiba Haunted School," he said, in a low and rumbling voice.

Makoto reached out without thinking, his fingertips catching in the hem of Haru's shirt.

"On a dark and stormy night forty years ago, this school was the site of a suicide. The girl who hung herself was so troubled and forlorn that her spirit never left the property. Because of that, various haunted incidents occurred over the years. The administrators disappeared, the school closed, and the spirits of many dead children are still said to roam the hallways. Your journey will require you to help the spirit of this poor girl ascend by delivering a token of peace to her desk."

Makoto's fingers tightened in Haru's shirt, and he drew closer. Haru said nothing, but a small shift of hips narrowed the gap between them further. Sousuke stepped near from his other side, laying a broad hand gently at the small of Makoto's back in the kind of way that didn't frighten him. "If we want to leave in the middle of it, is that allowed?" Sousuke asked. Makoto looked to him, eyes shining in silent relief that someone else asked what he was thinking.

"You need only say _I give up_ , and the spirits will release you." The man looked them over and produced three forms. "If you would like to help the little girl, please fill out these waivers."

Makoto gulped, taking his in a trembling hand.

"Here, I'll write," Haru said, easing the paper from Makoto's fingers. His neat, precise handwriting shaped the three kanji for Makoto's name with familiarity, giving the waiver back only so Makoto could sign it. He completed his own in short order, handing all three over when Sousuke finished his. His silent gaze and close presence reassured Makoto that no matter what, he'd always be there.

The man accepted their coins for admission and presented them with one paper doll and a red-light torch crudely attached to a length of rope. "You'll each want to hold onto the rope lest you get separated. There's no way to find your way out if you're separated...unless you give up."

"Fine." Haru's voice turned curt and he shoved the torch into Sousuke's hands. "Are we supposed to write our names on this?" he demanded, holding up the doll.

"Ah, have you walked these halls with us before? Yes, be sure all of your names are on there for your token to possess the proper energy."

"Whatever." He wrote each of their first names in katakana only while Makoto looked on, his big hands making nervous squeezing motions. "Makoto," Haru said, startling a tiny yelp from him. "We haven't gone in yet."

Makoto nodded, appreciative of both the warning and the consideration to write their names in kana. That way, it wasn't really their true names, and any latent spirits that might actually linger inside couldn't possess them. He still continued to wring his hands, but he felt a little less panicked than he had a moment ago thanks to Haru's kindness. Most people wouldn't think to do something like that to ease fears, but Haru knew Makoto so well he didn't even have to ask.

"I don't want to spoil it," Makoto said quietly. "I'll try my best."

His mouth quirked the tiniest of smiles and Haru turned to Sousuke. He looked from him to Makoto and back again, the expression Sousuke had begun calling his 'processing face' appearing. "You should go first."

Slowly - and not without difficulty and awkward confrontations - Sousuke was learning that Haru's silences weren't silent, that often he needed more time than others to put the things that churned behind his eyes into actual words, and that what Haru did physically was the greater part of his communication. Sousuke ground his heel on his own instinctive 'what the hell?' and tried his best to comprehend what wasn't being said, what it was Haru wanted him to understand. "You think so?" he asked instead.

"Mmm," Haru replied. "You're taller."

Sousuke grunted acknowledgment, turning to uncoil the rope with a look that bordered on annoyed. Haru's protectiveness of Makoto wasn't something he understood until he moved in with them; even then, their bond was such that although they'd invited him into it, to share both of them, it was easy to feel excluded. But as his fingers brushed Haru's, he saw the look in both his and Makoto's eyes in one cursory glance, and he knew. He felt the importance of the moment. Of Haru putting him in front, giving up his place as Makoto's protector and allowing him to take point. It was the most exposed position, but it was also the first line of defense to keep Makoto safe. Haru was giving that to Sousuke, offering his trust with it.

Some color fed into Sousuke's cheeks as he turned to guide Makoto's hand to the rope. "Just hold on tight," Sousuke said, in a low rumble that was only for Makoto and Haru to hear. "As long as we're here, nothing bad will happen to you."

"S-sousuke... Haru..." Makoto murmured, his eyes a little bigger and shinier than usual. Haru huffed and looked away, not about to admit either relief or held breath.

They had to wait for another group to go in first, which only gave Makoto more time to work himself up. He hadn't been in a haunted house since he and Haru were ten or so. But he trusted Haru and Sousuke. As long as he held onto the rope, right? Nothing bad would happen to him.

The door swung open, the pitch black darkness yawning invitingly. "Please help the poor schoolgirl's spirit ascend," the ticket-taker said, bowing as he waved them inside.

Sousuke went first, moving slowly so Makoto wouldn't get nervous, but sure in his steps. Once all three of them were inside, the door closed behind them and though Sousuke was sure the flimsy door couldn't be locked, the sound effects made a very realistic case otherwise.

Makoto jumped, his fingers frantically gripping the rope, tugging from both ends as if somehow Haru and Sousuke weren't close enough to him even when they were practically touching. "D-did they just lock us in?"

“Just closed,” Haru’s voice trailed around Makoto’s shoulder. His presence came up against Makoto’s back, falling into step even in the dark with one hand skimming Makoto’s hip. “Sousuke’s shirt is untucked,” he whispered, pressing an ‘I’m here’ kiss to Makoto’s back before drifting a couple of steps behind him again.

Makoto curled closer to Sousuke, arching his back into Haru's kiss as his face flushed. They shouldn't do that. Especially in public. But the room was so dark that he was sure no one could possibly see. It nearly took away his fear of the haunted house to dwell on how nice it was to be surrounded by his two favorite people.

The first room barely fit within the definition of ‘room’, small and grungy with scribbles of graffiti on the pockmarked walls, kana dipping into the craters in grotesque leans. Despite himself, Haru had to admire the attention to detail in creating the atmosphere of disrepair and decay.

A sudden memory of standing before the dilapidated ITSC and being pelted with sugar by Nagisa welled up, putting a wistful, unseen smile on Haru’s face. It had only been a couple of months since they’d seen everyone at the swimming Nationals, both Iwatobi and Samezuka, but it was always Nagisa who pulled hardest on Haru’s memories, Nagisa who in so many ways deserved the credit for bringing all of them back together and gathering the rest of Samezuka up in the process. Including ‘Sou-chan’. Would Sousuke have sought them out in Tokyo if not for Nagisa’s bold energy sweeping him in at the Samezuka festival, the fun-and-games whittling away the distance between them? 

"Look," Sousuke said, drawing the flashlight to illuminate the wall. "See? It's all just special effects." He tried to be dismissive for Makoto's sake, even though the artistic value of the effects were very good. It looked like an actual school that had fallen into disrepair.

"A-ah," Makoto agreed, but his voice was small and quivering.

The three of them approached the doorway, Sousuke leading towards where the word 'go' was scrawled in tiny kanji beside a wood frame. Suddenly, the door whipped open; it must have been spring-loaded and set to automatically open with the right amount of pressure on the floor, because no sooner had Sousuke set foot in front of it than it _slammed_ back with a horrible slide, squeak, and rattle.

Makoto nearly leaped out of his skin, crying out as he grabbed for Sousuke's shirt but wound up with his arms around Sousuke instead, face buried between his shoulder blades.

Sousuke stiffened, glancing over his shoulder. "It's okay," he said, trying to illuminate Haru and Makoto's faces to ensure they were both safe, that Makoto wasn't too scared. "It was just the door. They tried to make it as loud as possible."

Haru glared at the door, stepping close enough to run a soothing hand against Makoto’s back. The noise had startled him a bit, Makoto’s reaction amplifying it, but as always his curiosity outweighed any fright. In Iwatobi, it had fallen to teenaged him to keep the family home in good repair, so the pocket door’s mechanism intrigued him. “If it snaps open, it might snap closed once we go through it. Be ready,” he cautioned both of them. True to form, it thudded shut as soon as Haru crossed its threshold.

The next room bore more graffiti, the spray-painted lines reckless and haphazard. Bodies - dummies, Haru corrected, not wanting Makoto to share that thought - hung and draped in corners, over screens, slumped in broken masses against walls. They crossed through three more rooms, each one darker than the next and the hallways thinning the deeper they went. A constant din of banging and rattling followed their steps, but nothing jumped out or dropped in front of them until a looming, gawky mannequin silhouette in the next doorway lurched out of sight with an eerie giggle. Although Sousuke was strong and didn't consider himself a coward by any means, the combination of movement and sound shot anxious tension through his body even before Makoto had time to cower behind him.  It really looked like an actual person in the dim light from their torch.

The next doorway led to a hallway, and when Sousuke lifted the light, it barely illuminated the hanging corpse at the far end. A girl in a school uniform swung by a noose around her neck, limp and heavy. "It's just a dummy," Sousuke said, as if trying to convince himself too but mostly to ease Makoto's fear. The poor guy was wrinkling his shirt at the hem beyond repair. Now it made sense why half of Haru's shirts were pulled in one direction or another. "A mannequin, you know? It's not real."

"M-mm.” That was Makoto trying to speak, but real no words came out, only that muffled noise of agreement echoed by Haru’s calmer one.

Sousuke pushed on, when suddenly, something crashed from the ceiling. Makoto cried out, burrowing into Sousuke's spine, and his forward surge jerked Haru up against his back. Sousuke stopped, reaching his long, broad arm back to sweep around Makoto and Haru both, as another dummy twisted and spun beside them, its face too dark to make out but the school uniform the same as the other dummies. Hanging by a noose in the same way.

"Another mannequin," Sousuke said confidently, though his heart rate was elevated too. "See? It doesn't even have a--"

From the darkness, whispers began to circulate. _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please help me, Ma-ko-to, Ha-ru-ka, So-u-su-ke_.

A low growl came from behind Makoto and Sousuke, belonging to their shorter boyfriend. “Circle up,” Haru said, tugging the rope and with it the light into the center of their group. He reached his other hand into his jacket pocket, rustling and tearing at something before producing a round piece of candy. “Makoto,” he said, his voice shaping the name in counterpoint to the moaning recitations. “Chocolate.”

He held the truffle up until Makoto opened his mouth, sliding it inside with care and tenderness. Almost instantly, Makoto's shoulders began to ease out the tension, the taste and scent of the chocolate and kindness of Haru to think of him more than enough to ground him. Haru fished another one out, holding it towards Sousuke, his blue eyes an incandescent purple hue in the red torchlight.

Though Sousuke had been learning Haru's 'secret language' for the past few months, just when he thought he'd mastered it, the guy handed him chocolate. He watched Makoto take the candy like a pup from its master, and he could practically see Makoto's tail wagging at the gentle attention. With a roll of his eyes, Sousuke leaned down and opened up, accepting the treat with a grunt of satisfaction. Did Haru always keep those things on hand?

“These aren’t real ghosts, Makoto,” Haru said, opening more chocolate. “They don’t know me.”

 _Ha-ru-kaaaa_ , the shadows called. They practically wept.

Makoto shivered, accepting a second piece of chocolate with a small smile as his lips lingered against Haru's fingers. " _Haru_ ," he said, acknowledging the difference. The spirits didn't have their real names, only the kana symbols that made the sounds. It wasn't the same. They didn't know any of them. "Okay," he added, a determined look spreading across his features.

"Only a little further," Sousuke told him, smiling as the taste of the chocolate eased his own heart rate. He made a mental reminder to thank Haru later, even though it was ridiculous to think he needed to be calmed down with candy like a child. "Come on."

At the end of the long hall, another dummy slid forward to peer at them around the door and then, giggling, retreated. Though Makoto gripped Sousuke's shirt again, he didn't make a single whimper, just kept sucking on the candy to make it last, to ease the fear, to remember that Haru was there, Sousuke was there, and these ghosts weren't real.

The next room was enclosed in pitch black, but as they rounded the corner, a window appeared, backlight with red light to showcase a classroom with upturned tables, pockmarks in the walls, graffiti, and a charred skeleton that pressed against the window pane, as if begging to be let free.

"Th-that poor girl," Makoto murmured.

"It's another dummy," Sousuke said, but when he turned to look at Makoto, he saw the sadness in his eyes that made the moment seem all too real. Maybe that was why Makoto didn't like haunted houses or scary movies - they often came from a place of true sadness. "It's all right. We just need to make sure she has this doll, and we can help her." It was like a bedtime story, like talking to a child, but Sousuke said each word with reverence, taking Makoto's fear and despair seriously.

The lone doorway through which they could exit flowed into a narrow hall, barely wide enough for each of them to walk. The designers hadn’t thought to allow for muscular swimmers and their wide shoulders, Haru thought, only mildly disappointed that his were the ones that best fit in the corridor. Sousuke and Makoto had more trouble, with Makoto whimpering quietly every time his shoulder or elbow even brushed the sides of the walls and Sousuke pushing through despite the tight space that made his stomach lurch a little in discomfort.

Sobbing noises, a veritable chorus of female weeping, came from the darkness, shifting shadows moving near eye level as Sousuke led the trio into the adjoining open room. In front of them, barely lit by dim, dirty lightbulbs, hung rows and rows of bodies. Above them, beside them, all around them. Each body wore the same school uniform, and every single one hung by a noose, their lifeless limbs barely swaying to cast shadows on the walls.

All of the air seemed to be sucked out from this particular room, stifling in the still quiet. Even though a low, ambient soundtrack played through the entire attraction, in this room, it was quieted and soft, like a call from the beyond. Haru swallowed, loath to admit that this was the lone space that hadn’t felt contrived or put together for show.

"The faster we get through this room," Sousuke said, loudly, "The less frightening it will be." He turned, glancing back and allowing the torch to illuminate Makoto's frightened expression. "They're just mannequins. Or clothes stuffed with rice. If they move, it's because someone is controlling them."

"I don't know if I can do it," Makoto said, lowering his gaze. The hanging bodies made him feel physically ill to look at.

"You can," Sousuke said. "With us beside you, you can." Turning further, Sousuke looked from Haru back to Makoto, as if asking permission to keep speaking. He took Makoto's hands in his, warming them. "On my count, we're all going to run. Haru's slow, so you have to look out for him." That earned Sousuke both a frosty glare and a calculating nod from Haru.

Makoto's eyes widened a little. There was still a bit of the taste of chocolate lingering on his tongue as he swallowed. He looked back at Haru, the person who had always protected him, an expression of determination crossing his face. "Right." He nodded, lifting his hands from Sousuke's so he could slap them to his own cheeks. "I can do this." It was a game, right? Like a race. And he had to concentrate on not losing Haru in order to win.

Sousuke hid his grin in the darkness as he turned back and counted off. "One. Two. _Three_!"

While they expected Makoto to run, neither Haru nor Sousuke anticipated the high battle cry he let out or the way he grabbed Haru's wrist and dragged him along after like an errant child who'd been lost in a crowd. It actually startled Sousuke to hear that sort of noise come from Makoto's timid mouth. But it also floored him so much that as he ran, he shoved the bodies aside, ignored the way their feet dangled and brushed his shoulders, his face, the top of his head. He shouted too, feeling wonderfully stupid and alive with the two people who had changed his world view, who had taken him in and offered him space between them, _with_ them, as a part of their love and an extension of their togetherness.

The heavy-bodied space led outward finally. Panting, the three of them slowed their run, taking Sousuke's lead when he started to walk again. It seemed impossible that they'd just cleared such a horrible room the way they had, but when Makoto bumped into Sousuke because he slowed too much and then jumped because he ran into him, things seemed back to normal. Makoto held tight to Haru's hand and reached for the hem of Sousuke's shirt again as well. For a moment, it was just the ambient music and the sound of their heavy breaths that filled the silence.

The room beyond held another classroom, desks strewn against the walls, their legs bent in twisted angles. Black scorch marks decorated the floor, vulgar and desperate words scrawled on the walls. Off to one side sat a single desk, a burning candle atop it. It was in the center of the blackened ruins, as if the pain and anguish in that space had exploded outward and shredded everything else in its wake.

 _Not bad_ , Haru had to admit. He scuffed one of the scorches with his foot, pleased when the paint didn’t lift. How many people had even made it this far in the trial? “We’re here,” he said, pulling the paper doll out of his jacket once they had gathered around the desk, the candle’s light flickering off the neat black kana of their names. “This is what we came to do.”

Makoto, who had jumped again when Haru broke the uneasy silence, looked from the doll to the desk. "This is it?" he asked, his hope for the end of this attraction obvious in the shake of his voice. Sousuke wrapped Makoto’s hand in warmth, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“It’s our goal. Last boss.” Haru held the doll out to him, his eyes firmly on Makoto’s as he said an inner thanks to Sousuke. When the two of them went through scary places, it was Haru’s instinct to let Makoto hide behind him and just keep moving, but Sousuke giving Makoto a goal earlier - look out for Haru (there would be _words_ between him and Sousuke about that later, he wasn’t _that_ slow) - brought out Makoto’s competitive and protective sides, his will to _do_ rather than react and fear. When Makoto was doing, he forgot to be scared.

"Last boss," Makoto repeated, nodding. Thinking of this in video game terms made a lot of sense to Makoto.

The candle’s light reflected and flickered in Haru’s eyes until Makoto’s nerveless fingers made a hesitant stretch towards the paper doll and they held it together. “Put it on the desk and we’ll all pray, just like at the shrine.” Haru’s soft whisper included Makoto and Sousuke both as he tucked his left hand into Sousuke’s, completing their circle.

The single illuminated desk loomed ominously before them, but with all three of them walking forward together, it was somehow less frightening than it might have been alone. Makoto knew he'd never have made it through the haunted school without each of them, and likewise Sousuke knew he'd have felt more trepidation than he did as they stood before the solitary desk with its flickering candle and sad, dusty surface.

Makoto hurriedly pushed his hand forward, dragging Haru's with it so they could urge the paper doll down onto the desktop. “Go to heaven,” the three of them said in unison. No sooner than the doll touched the faded wood and their words echoed than a door that had been hidden in shadows creaked open, a faint light seen from within.

" _Thank you_ , _Ha-ru-ka, Ma-ko-to, So-u-su-ke,_ " said a disembodied girl's voice. A small laugh followed. " _I can finally be at peace_." Her voice seemed to float upwards as it lilted and echoed through the room.

Sousuke grinned, jerking his chin towards the door. "I bet that's the exit." He moved towards it, guiding the others. They passed through a brighter hallway painted like a forest, leaves and vines half obscuring the way like an overgrown garden, until eventually they were led back into the shopping mall where they'd started in the queue.

Makoto blinked away the brightness of the mall's lighting and then let out a loud sigh as he sagged between his boyfriends. "I thought we'd never make it out!"

Sousuke laughed freely, showing them both the sort of expression only Rin used to know existed. "Was it really that bad?" Haru turned away from him in a hurry, flexing his hand and mumbling something under his breath. “Haru?” His cheeks had colored up and he looked almost uncomfortable.

“...Makoto still doesn’t know his idiot strength,” Haru said, avoiding eye contact.

Sousuke's brows lifted in surprise - had Makoto really hurt Haru just dragging him around like that? - but before he could reach out to study the damage, Makoto jumped for Haru, his own fear completely forgotten as he pulled Haru's hand towards him for inspection.

"Haru! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to squeeze so hard!"

As Makoto fawned over Haru, Sousuke watched the pair of them, a stab of deep, deep longing nearly throwing his body into a lurch when Makoto's eyes met Haru's and the both of them went perfectly still. Unspoken words might have very well been shuffling through the air in telepathic conversation with the subtle expressions that flicked across each young man's face.

"Oh," Makoto said, finally, a smile blossoming as he gently stroked Haru's palm before letting him have his hand back. He laughed, leaning in. "I think so, too, you know. When he smiles, he's..." Makoto glanced up, his gaze lingering a beat on Sousuke's. "When he smiles, Sousuke is really beautiful, isn't he, Haru?"

“Makoto says too much,” Haru muttered, his mouth in an uncertain pout when he could finally meet Sousuke’s eyes. “Sousuke.” The name was decisive on his tongue, the silence following it anything but as Haru tried to sift words from the flowing river of thought inside his head. “I want a bite of a crepe,” he declared, jamming his hands in his pockets and crossing the mall corridor to the creperie.

Makoto and Sousuke exchanged a look as Haru marched away with such determined movements. Then, they both turned their attention to Haru's retreating form and stepped forward to follow him. "Haru is still so easily embarrassed around you," Makoto mused.

Sousuke barely heard him, his mind already on other things as leaned down only slightly to ask Makoto, "What we talked about before... It's still okay?"

"M-mm," Makoto said, though he couldn't look at Sousuke anymore after answering and his face was bright red by the time they joined Haru at the creperie. He didn't stay long beside them, either, knowing Haru would put his order in. "I'll get us a table and utensils," he offered.

There wasn't a long wait for crepes, but since each was hand made on the spot, it took a few minutes after placing their order to pick up the fresh plates. As they stood to the side, Sousuke looked away, the tips of his long fingers requesting admission between Haru's.

Haru gnawed with enthusiasm on his lower lip, attention anywhere but on their hands. Odaiba at night held a far more permissive vibe, tentative hand-holding between two men giving less cause for the fervent not-staring of disapproval, and yet Haru found himself not-staring while his traitorous fingers greeted Sousuke’s with welcome. He wanted the crepe maker to finish Makoto’s chocolate hazelnut concoction immediately and he wanted it to take forever and forty remakes. Traces of mutual nervous damp adhered their palms together, so different from earlier around the desk. That was comfort and unity, while this...this felt _romantic._ Rin-romantic. It was the kind of touch Haru knew well from Makoto’s hand, but accepting it from Sousuke’s tripled his urge to outrun his embarrassment. Which in turn quadrupled his urge not to let Sousuke win by seeing Haru’s composure break.

An employee called Haru’s number, placing on the counter a perfect, plated concoction of fluffy chocolate, crushed hazelnuts, and endless spirals of whipped cream curled in a delicate French-inspired pancake. Haru chanced a tiny glance at Sousuke, exhaling a tinier huff of resolve without budging.

With a faint squeeze of reassurance, Sousuke stepped forward to pick up Makoto's plate and pass it to Haru. He didn't let go of Haru's hand, though; now that their fingers were entwined, he thought he may never let go. He knew without looking somehow that Makoto was watching this interaction, and it floored him enough that he pushed things a bit, rubbing his broad thumb along Haru's delicate wrist. Haru twitched, that spot was a little vulnerable to callused touch and he didn’t want to drop Makoto’s pretty crepe.

Sousuke's order was up shortly after - a tart apple, green tea, and honey crepe with a spritz of whipped cream on the top and a single cherry resting neatly between the filling and pancake folds. "I hope it's not too sweet for you," Sousuke said, holding his plate with one hand so that he didn't have to let go of Haru's with his other. Haru huffed again, the tops of his ears turning a deeper pink as he tugged Sousuke towards the table Makoto chose.

"Wow!" Makoto nearly shouted, perking up brightly in his seat as Haru set the beautiful crepe in front of him. "It looks so good! Thank you both!" To his credit, Makoto managed to wait until they'd all sat down before he tucked in. It didn't escape his notice that Sousuke and Haru's hands were still held under the table. Slowly, he reached with his free one for Haru's, trying not to feel completely overwhelmed by how amazing it was to be out with both of them, enjoying the air and delicious food together. Haru’s hand flexed around his, impossible to tell if from nerves or annoyance...probably both.  "Haru said he'd try a bite," Makoto murmured, his eyes on his own food humbly.

"That's right. He did." Sousuke grinned a little, plucking the cherry from his crepe and holding it out between his fingers for Haru to take. "Open up."

For just a moment, Haru considered biting him; that would knock away that stomach-flipping smile and put Haru back in control of the situation. Makoto’s hand - cool, familiar, whisper-soft but so very strong - didn’t bring its normal comfort, not with Sousuke’s hot, steely fingers curled with his and turning him inside-out with new sensations. He was hot all over, itchy in ways a scratch couldn’t soothe, and overwhelmed by a face that had no business being so magnetic. He felt...he felt…

_he felt like it did in the water with Rin: fiery and fierce and fast, hungry and eager to compete._

Haru opened his mouth to claim the maraschino, stem and all. He chewed and swallowed, toying with the leftover stem. It bent with the flex of his tongue, his mind still full of Sousuke and Rin and water and _why did he never quite see it before?_ The stem tangled the more he played with it; he really should take it out, but both his hands were occupied and even Haru’s disregard for social niceties didn’t include spitting it onto the table. With a pout in Sousuke’s direction, he stuck the tip of his tongue out, a knotted cherry stem cradled there. _More_ , his eyes said, thinking that wasn’t quite what he’d meant by ‘a bite’.

For a moment, both Makoto and Sousuke were stunned into silence. Sousuke had intended for the display to be erotic of course, and Makoto had egged him on, sure, but that didn't mean Haru had to twist the cherry stem with his tongue and then present it like that in front of them with such a look.

The legs of Sousuke's chair scraped the floor loudly and suddenly as he bucked towards Haru, his crepe all but forgotten as Haru’s eyes got impossibly wide from his proximity. Before he could close his lips around Haru's tongue, though, Makoto kicked him under the table. "Not here," Makoto said, firmly, even though he looked like it took all of his strength just to say that. "When we get home…" He glanced around, then focused back on Haru's tongue as he reached out to pick the cherry stem from it delicately. Haru knew full well what petulant looks like that did to him, let alone what they now did to Sousuke as well, and Haru had the decency to look somewhat chastened if not quite regretful. "There's plenty of time for that when we get home, ne, Sousuke?"

Sousuke huffed, his face blotched a bit red as he settled back into his chair and cut off a bite of crepe to feed to Haru instead. At least watching things go in Haru's mouth was satisfying on its own. Haru, for his part, opened his mouth like a baby bird to eat the offered crepe, chewing in silence while his pinky made a restless stroke against Sousuke’s. It wasn’t entirely an apology, but it wasn’t _not_ one, either.

"You like it?" Makoto asked. He'd never seen Haru eat anything that fell into the dessert category with such ease.

The crepe was good, Haru admitted with a nod, just enough sweet for balance but nothing heavy or cloying. The apple was the most prominent flavor, layered with the earthiness of green tea, and everything felt warm in his stomach even though most of the ingredients were cold. “Makoto,” Haru said, his eyes not leaving Sousuke’s. “Bite, please.”

"I guess we're restricting your movements, aren't we?" Makoto laughed as he cut off a bit of the middle of his crepe, making sure to get the sweet and chocolatey pieces all in one bite. Once he had it balanced on his fork, he leaned across the table, and fed it to Sousuke, who, for his part, accepted without argument.

It was only after he'd done it that Makoto realized Haru had just tricked him into an indirect kiss with Sousuke, driven home by how Haru avoided his gaze, tiny tendrils of smug tugging his mouth up. He sat back, fiddling with his crepe again and unsure how to proceed, because his next bite would now taste like Sousuke's lips.

"You should try a bite too, Haru," Sousuke offered. He knew that would just complete the kiss between all three of them, and there was something intimately appealing about watching the two of them feed one another. "Just a small one, since Haru doesn't like chocolate."

Makoto lifted a very small bite towards Haru, his gaze shifting between the two very different but also very similar men. "Just a taste," Makoto added, his voice a little lower than usual.

“So much trouble, both of you,” Haru sighed, opening his mouth for the fork. “I’m at my limit,” he warned before taking the bite, letting his tongue linger against the tines until Makoto pulled it away. The chocolate hazelnut was far too sweet, the flavor and texture merciless as they coated the inside of his mouth. Still, Haru licked the stray filling from his lips, not for the flavor of the crepe but the phantom touch of two others beneath it. He knew Makoto’s taste, it seemed he’d known it forever, but the tone layered over and under and through it was new. They...blended in a curious way, a way Haru knew was made much more of imagination and anticipation than anything real; regardless, Haru wanted to lift a hand to his lips, to see if he could feel with his fingers the frantic buzzing in them. If this was what an indirect kiss wrought, then he could only imagine the real thing.

It didn't take long for Makoto to finish the rest of his dessert and then help Sousuke with some of his too. None of them seemed to want to let go of the hand in theirs, so even when all the food was cleaned off the plates, the three still remained at the table for a while before Makoto suggested they play a few games and ride the Ferris wheel. The attractions were only open until eleven or so; Makoto wanted to be sure they didn't miss anything.

In the arcade, Makoto and Sousuke challenged one another to almost everything, from basketball to darts to fighting video games, while Haru was content to play racing games on his own and discreetly observe (and admire) their competition. Makoto, as usual, took it quite seriously, and by the time the three made their way out of Leisureland, he was thankful for the cool night air to dry some of his sweat.

On the way to the Ferris wheel, there were many beautiful things to see, not the least of which was the gorgeous view of the harbor to one side, the bridge glittering silver in the darkness, and the decorations of Odaiba's storefronts, restaurants, and culture events to the other side. Haru walked out ahead of the other two, reaching the railing and looking out over the bay towards Tokyo. For once, the water below wasn’t his primary focus.

“The last time we were here,” he began, his low voice mixing with the autumn breeze as he leaned forward on the railing, “we were facing the other way from across there.” Haru pointed to the boardwalk where he’d stood with Rei, Nagisa, and Makoto the night before Nationals. “Do you remember what we said then, Makoto?”

“Mmm.” Over a year later, the memory remained crisp and clean for Makoto: the front of his shirt soaked with Nagisa’s tears; his fingers deep in both underclassmen’s hair; Haru’s eyes holding a pure, renewed shine since his return from Australia. “There won’t be an end for us.”

“Yes.” Haru turned to face them both and smiled, the tiny expression transforming his whole countenance. “There is no end for us...even when there’s a new beginning.” The warmth in his face carried to Sousuke, inviting him anew into this shared space. “I’m not always good at saying things, and I tend to get overwhelmed when I try. Makoto picks up so much of the slack for me and I’m grateful for it.”

"Makoto is good at helping people," Sousuke agreed. He moved to lean his back against the rail, until his elbow brushed Haru's. "You're lucky to have had him this long in your life. Not everyone would put up with you."

"Sousuke!" Makoto scratched at his cheek delicately in thought. "I don't pick up that much slack. Haru's words are just less...vocal than most people's, that's all."

Sousuke's mouth quirked as he reached out for Makoto's hand, twining their large fingers together as he pulled him close to the two of them. That way, when he leaned in to speak, they'd both hear the whisper, "I know it can't be easy to let someone into a relationship this precious." The tops of his cheeks grew warm as his gaze lingered between the two. "I want you both to know that I will do my best." He swallowed, looking somewhat uncomfortable at the confession. But if Haru could say it, then so could he.

"It makes me happy," Makoto said, nodding as he leaned against Sousuke, keeping their hands connected. "Being here with both of you. Thinking back on that time but also looking towards the future. There really won't be an end for us; just a continuous evolution. I think that's how it's meant to be." The water glistened as their backdrop: pasts, futures, and presents all twined into the single moment they stood at the rail together.

Sousuke didn't let the moment linger too long. He wasn't Rin, and this wasn't some romantic movie where they confessed everything and then laughed into the credits over cheesy American music. "Have you two been to Venus Fort yet? There's something inside I think Haru might enjoy."

Haru’s gaze slanted up at Sousuke with definite interest. “Mackerel?” he asked, wispy hope in his voice.

Sousuke chuckled, fitting Haru’s hand into his. “Better.”

 

* * *

 

Sousuke meant well. His intentions had been noble and pure, anyway. He knew there was a beautiful, intricately crafted fountain in the heart of the expensive, high-end shopping mall. As a child, he remembered seeing it in passing, thinking it was too fancy, too big. With Haru's love of water, though, how couldn't he remember its sheer size and wonder and imagine Haru's awe when he saw such a thing?

Of course, he'd somehow managed to forget that if there was a body of water deep enough for Haru to submerge in, he would do so: public fountains in front of large crowds of people (and security guards) were apparently no exception.

"I told you to hold onto him," Makoto said, shielding Haru while he finished pulling his clothes on as they got in the line for the Ferris wheel. It was late, nearly ten, and the crowds had thinned for this particular attraction.

"I thought you were joking," Sousuke grumbled. "What kind of idiot shucks his clothes in a flash and jumps into a public fountain?"

“I had my jammers on,” Haru pointed out, a little insulted by the ‘public indecency’ comment from security. Said jammers were still on, now making wet spots well up through the thighs of his black jeans.

Makoto and Sousuke shared a look, then both started to laugh. "Haru's first love was water. I don't think he ever quite grew out of it." Makoto reached to help tug Haru's shirt down over his bare stomach. "Was it really worth diving in to have security scold us like that, Haru?" Haru’s blissed-out, remorseless face said it was more than worth it, his damp hair clinging to his head.

Sousuke fixed the back of Haru's shirt discreetly. "You'd better not catch a cold." Though it was a reprimand, there was also a promise twined between the words that said he'd take care of Haru if he did.

“I should be fine. Venus Fort is inside. The water was cold, but the air in the mall wasn’t.” Haru had once explained his propensity towards cold weather post-swim sniffles as being more sensitivity, less sickness. The combination of cold water and cold air convinced his body he was sick, but nobody ever caught it from him and it rarely lasted more than a couple days. Even if he did get sick, a few sneezes would be a small price to pay for the wonderful dip in the fountain and their undivided attention in the mall.

Palette Town’s Ferris wheel stood in its full neon glory before them, the subject of countless photos and music videos and romantic dreams. Haru followed its colors with his eyes as they waited their turn, thankful for the warmth bracketing him on either side. He didn’t know if he’d ever had any real romantic dreams; Makoto had been there always, it almost seemed absurd _not_ to love him. Sousuke...came as a surprise; there had been nothing missing in what he had with Makoto, it was simply realizing that they had more than enough love to share with him. It took Haru longer to genuinely _like_ Sousuke, but allowing attraction to bloom to love needed little effort.

Well, Haru thought, perhaps seeing Tokyo from 115 meters in the air in Makoto and Sousuke's company could be considered a romantic dream.

"Have you ever been on this?" Makoto asked, awed the closer they drew. It looked big from far away and even bigger up close.

"When I was little, I went on it with my parents," Sousuke said. Instead of looking up, he enjoyed Makoto's expressions. They were so pure and carefree, like a wide open book begging to be read. He certainly understood Haru's attraction to a guy like that, and now he realized he was sharing the same feelings.

They gave their tickets to the operator, who asked them if they wanted a glass enclosed carriage or a normal one. "Normal!" Makoto blurted, and then blushed. "I mean, I'd like some ground beneath my feet." Makoto wasn't afraid of heights, so maybe that was a weird request.

Sousuke laughed. "After the haunted house, you get to choose whatever you want."

"Was I that bad?"

“Yes.” Haru’s voice held distinct amusement, caressed in a current of perpetual fond. “Can we have the green one for the three of us?” he asked the operator. The man hauled it to a halt, opening the door’s latch to let them board.

Makoto stepped in first, then offered his hand to Haru, and Sousuke followed, sitting sort of across from Makoto since the seating was in the round. Makoto and Sousuke's knees bumped, their long legs too long for the close quarters. It took a minute, but soon their car inched forward enough to let the next group of passengers on, a gaggle of university girls dressed up for a night out.

"I actually wanted this carriage for a different reason," Makoto said, looking out his side of the bucket and then back to them. "Sousuke. You asked me before about something. I thought you could do it in here." He twisted the hem of his shirt anxiously. "I thought we could all do it together."

Haru’s eyes sharpened, searching for answers as Makoto avoided his gaze. What had the two of them been planning? He couldn’t mean…? No, no, that wasn’t possible. The ride was only about 15 minutes, and even without an all glass cabin it didn’t meet Makoto-standards for intimate privacy. Nor had Haru packed anything necessary for intimacies; the remaining chocolates and wrappers in his jacket were no help for that. “You want...together?” he asked, struggling to connect the dots between these disparate concepts.

"N-Not _that_!" Makoto said in a panic, waving his hands wildly. His cheeks were practically on fire by then. He wasn't as good as Haru in silences, but at least he and Sousuke were on the same page so he didn't have to explain in detail what he meant. He left that to Sousuke.

"I asked him if I could kiss you," Sousuke said. There was no fear in his voice, no anxiety, and yet something about his tone was so vulnerable in the quiet of their compartment. The girls below them giggled, their laughter carrying gently up as the carriage swung forward, up one more position to let another group on at the base. "I'd be lying if I said I hadn't wanted to all night."

“....oh.” Haru blinked and looked away, the neon lights unable to disguise the soft color burning high on his cheeks. This quiet plea to be included struck sparks inside him. “You could have asked me,” he grumbled around the too-full feeling in his chest that had nothing to do with their car’s slow ascent. “Unless…” Blue eyes put the unspoken questions into the air surrounding them.

"I told him that too," Makoto argued, ready to answer all of Haru's silent thoughts. But he forced himself to keep quiet after that outburst; Sousuke should explain it himself.

"I didn't want to come between you two." Sousuke met Haru's gaze, tentatively reaching out to touch his cheek, to stroke down the line of his jaw. Up close, he was a lot softer than he looked from afar, like the lines that drew him smoothed with proximity. "I can feel your energy, what you like," Sousuke went on. "I know that you want to kiss me. That you want to kiss Makoto. That you'd probably love to see _me_ kiss Makoto."

"S-ousuke!" Makoto exclaimed, harmonizing with Haru’s quiet “I would.”

"But it's hard to tell, from Makoto's side. Did he only agree to this, to _me_ , because you and I finally hit it off? Would I be taking you away from him or him away from you to want you both?" Sousuke's throat felt dry; too many words were escaping, and yet they flowed so eagerly off his tongue. The carriage began to ascend again, this time slowly moving in a steady rise to the top. "I asked Makoto, because I can't read him like you can, and the last thing I wanted was to ruin things for you two, just because I want to touch you both, kiss you, _be_ with you." His thumb slid over Haru's mouth and the pink tip of Haru’s tongue flicked out to touch it. Encouraged, Sousuke leaned in. If Haru stopped him, he'd stop, but even Makoto held his breath in hope that that wasn't the case.

“Sousuke.” Haru’s voice was a bare whisper as their lips paused a breath apart. “If you get home late and Makoto already ate all the rice, what do I always do?”

A deep, apple-and-honey chuckle rose from Sousuke’s throat, tickling against Haru’s nose. “You make more...unless we’re out of rice and money.”

“This isn’t like rice,” Haru said, his lashes low curtains shading his eyes and giving Sousuke peeks of pure blue between their black fringe. “It won’t run out. We can always make more.”

It was difficult not to be the one kissing Haru when he said something so strangely romantic like that, but Makoto found a new perspective in watching Sousuke's lips meet Haru's as they closed the distance between them. It was beautiful to see Haru's expressions like that, the way his long lashes fell in a flutter to rest his eyelids closed, the flush on his skin, the cant of his neck and the way Sousuke's nose pushed in against his cheek a bit. Sousuke's large hand looked even bigger curled at Haru's throat, but it was so gentle in the way it cupped there; like Haru was made of gossamer silk that Sousuke didn't want to tangle or break.

Makoto focused where their lips met, on the slide of them together, and when Sousuke groaned quietly, Makoto wondered if this had really been a good idea or not. Fifteen minutes wasn't very long. He knew from experience that kissing Haru was something he wanted to do forever, losing complete track of time after they began.

But to his credit, Sousuke pulled back after only a moment. They'd nearly reached the top of the Ferris wheel as he smiled, laughed, licking the taste of Haru from his lips. It had been a long time since he'd felt this happy, this accepted and free. He reached out with his free hand, fingers curling around the base of Makoto's skull, tugging him gently closer, until they were all three huddled together, foreheads touching.

Makoto braced himself, one hand on each of their legs, and this time he made the first move, ducking his head to find Sousuke's lips, stealing Haru's taste from them. Haru watched them, breathed in their mingled scents, but far more of his attention focused inward, fingertips tracing over his mouth in quiet wonder. It was his first kiss from someone who wasn’t Makoto, his first taste of new lips that made his ache with sweetness.

Haru wanted another taste, hunger a sudden, burning ember under his ribs. It flared as he watched Makoto’s hand fist atop Haru’s knee, his other one stretching to palm Sousuke’s face and invite himself deeper into Sousuke’s mouth. It sizzled when Sousuke made a sudden dark sound in his throat, the hand that had slid down the slope of Haru’s back pressing to bring him closer. And it combusted altogether when their kiss broke, fire in two pairs of dazed green eyes, and they turned as one to him, each finding a cheek, a forehead, a nose, an ear to kiss over and over, tiny little nibbles of perfection as the carriage sank back to earth and ascended again.

The Ferris wheel moved in slow rotation, quick enough that their kisses were fairly private from anyone waiting below to board but slow enough to enjoy the ride while it lasted. Makoto's lips found Haru's ear, Sousuke's found his neck, and at some point they all three bumped faces trying to kiss each other at the same time. It wasn't difficult to find harmony between them, though, and there was never a point where one felt left out or alone. All of them were always touching in some way, breaths tangled and lips kissed pink by the time the fervor of their earlier rush calmed into something slower to boil.

Makoto laughed in his gentle way, sitting back slowly, though he kept his hands on each of them so they'd know he wasn't going anywhere. "We're going to--miss the views," he murmured, breathlessly.

"You started it," Sousuke teased, Haru humming in agreement as he pressed a hand to the glass. But they were so high up that even Sousuke couldn't resist a quick look when they reached the top. Tokyo Bay and Odaiba lights glittered below, reaching out through the darkness and shimmering on the water's reflection like a symphony of illumination.

Makoto's fingers sought Haru's to lace together as he peered out one side, his eyes lit up like a child's. "Wow."

Sousuke's interest very quickly veered back to Makoto and Haru, heads together and eyes glowing. _Wow_ was all he could think too. Part of him wanted this moment to last forever, the newness of it magical and private and perfect; the other half couldn't wait for things to progress, to see where this future would lead them.

All too soon, their ride ended and they stepped from the magical green car into earthbound reality. Haru cast a longing look back up at the summit, his mind filled with kisses and soft words and the closest glimpse of the ocean he’d had in months. Living in concrete and not on the beach remained an adjustment he only tolerated at best. As a general rule, Haru didn’t like change. For Haru, change meant upheaval. Change meant loss. Change...meant people who didn’t stay.

Change in the form of Yamazaki Sousuke...that was still upheaval, but without the accustomed loss or desertion, something so novel in his experience that Haru had swallowed fear and stretched out his hand bit by bit to claim it. To sculpt the tension that always existed between them into something new, something pliant and strong enough to bind the three of them into one.

Still, Haru thought, gazing up and up at Makoto and Sousuke, just because they were now three didn’t mean everything had changed. No, some things could and _would_ stay the same.

“Sousuke,” Haru said, taking just a moment to appreciate the oceanic warmth in his eyes when Haru said his name, the curl of wide mouth, the broad curve of hand embracing his whole shoulder as Sousuke leaned down to listen. “There’s something I forgot to tell you,” he began, the fragments of a tentative smile trying to lift his lips.

“What?”

Haru’s smile morphed into a tiny smirk before his eyes as his mouth formed the three little words Sousuke never, never expected to hear tonight.

“I don’t bottom.”

"H-Haru!" Makoto hurried after him as Haru briskly walked ahead to lead them towards the station. "You can't say things like that so straightforwardly!"

Stunned, Sousuke stood with his jaw dropped until the words really sank in. It was the last thing he expected Haru to say, but more than that, how did that even work? Makoto bottomed? _Makoto_ ?? _Bottomed_??

"Oi, you can't just say something like that and walk off," he argued, his long legs quick to catch up to the pair. "Explain it to me."

Makoto covered his face. "Haru, please don't." He was half afraid Haru was going to draw him a picture; it was bad enough Sousuke asked like he really expected them to discuss it on the ride home.

It hit Makoto as he listened to Haru and Sousuke argue (too loudly) about how or _if_ Haru would bottom, that the three of them were going home. To the home they shared. Together. It was worth all the embarrassment in the world if at the end of every day he would be with Haru and Sousuke.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please hit us up on tumblr or twitter if you'd like to chat. =^_^=
> 
> Phoenicia: [tumblr](http://mienaihane.tumblr.com) | [twtter](http://twitter.com/mienaihane)  
> snarkyscorp: [tumblr](http://fuwafuwafic.tumblr.com) | [twitter](http://twitter.com/oikawalife)
> 
> Joint headcanon blog: [futurefishsticks](http://futurefishsticks.tumblr.com)


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